Monday, January 25, 2010

Project #4- Hanging Closet Organizers

So I saw these whilst looking for baby stuff online and decided that I could so make my own hanging closet organizers...

And tuh-dah! Here's my rendition:

*Side note/Spoiler Alert*

If you are someone expecting a baby soon and I will be attending your baby shower, there's a good chance that many of these projects I'm posting will be gifts from me. So sorry if I ruined the surprise!

Ok. I looked all over the craft store for something to use that would hang like I wanted it to, and decided that foam would do the trick. So I bought a packet of foam sheets for $8 and these cute foam stickers... I then went to the Dollar Tree for something and found this (pictured below) packet of foam sheets for $1. I then immediately returned the $8 package to the craft store. :)


I cut the foam sheets in half, used my mom's scrapbooking corner-rounder-puncher thingy, used a medicine bottle lid to trace a circle, and cut out the hole in the middle.


I used little sports balls for my soon-to-be nephew's set.

Here's the whole set of boys and girls:


I've found that the foam stickers work the best on these little projects. I couldn't find foam number stickers anywhere and used scrapbook stickers instead. They don't like to stay on very well, but writing with permanent marker works fine too!
I think I might make some for my own closet... :)

Project #3- Tutu Crib Skirt

First of all, you need to know that this little lady was part of my inspiration for the baby's room. She was my very first porcelain doll, that I probably got when I was 8 or so. I still haven't taken her out of the box (I'm such a nerd- and her little curl has been in front of her face for a dozen years. Maybe someday I'll take her out and fix it.) Pink and green are the colors and it's supposed to be kinda ballerina-esque. Very suiting for a little girl who shares the name of the main character from the nutcracker, eh?


Second of all, you need to know about this awesome website that I ordered my materials from.



I got a 40 yard bolt of tulle for $18, 25 yard spools of tulle (6" wide) for $2 each, and a 25 yard spool of ribbon for $4. What a deal! I was so excited when my shipment finally came in.
My first step was to hem a panel of pink fabric for the liner that was exactly the height and width that I wanted to end up with (unless you want your skirt to be sheer & see-through). I would like to be able to hide a couple of totes or baskets under the crib, so I used a liner. I then doubled my tulle (just folded it in half width wise- it comes like this on the bolt) and pinned the folded edge in pleats to the top of the liner fabric. I had to trim about a four inch strip of tulle off the bottom, but I will use these scraps in a later project.

Here's what it looked like after pinning.

I then stitched across the top to hold the pleats in place. I forgot to take a picture of this next part, but I wanted to add a ribbon trim to the bottom of the skirt. I cut another single layer of tulle just a few inches shorter in height, and a few inches wider than the liner. I wanted the ribbon to wrap around the panel and not have an edge showing, hence the few inches wider.

I then cheated and hot glued the ribbon along the bottom. I fiddled with sewing the ribbon on, but decided that glue worked just as well, took less time, and didn't leave stitch marks on the ribbon. Just be sure not to stretch the tulle while you're gluing or you get some funky puckering going on.

I then cheated again and hot glued velcrow right onto the crib frame and the back of the skirt panel. I did this so that I could change the length of the skirt when you move the mattress down without doing any sewing. Who knows, maybe another little girl will need to use this crib set later on!


And here's the finished product for my little prima ballerina!
Another cheat: I only made a front and side panel since the crib is sitting in the corner of the room. I would also like to be able to tell you how much tulle I used, but I never measured. Sorry! All I can say is that I still have *plenty* left on my bolt!
Oh, and I will be making a window valance to match... :)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Project #2- Wipes Case

So cute, so easy, and no sewing!
(Sorry, I'm not a photographer, and I don't know how to flip the pictures the right way)
Tutorials can be found all over the internet, but I just had to play around with it until I figured out what I liked. Basically, all you need is:
  • Diaper wipes case (found mine at the dollar store)
  • Fabric (found mine in the remnant bin at JoAnn's)
  • 1/4 in ribbon for trim (opaque is best, this is what covers your rough edges of the fabric)
  • Glue gun
  • Embellishments (buttons, ribbon, flowers, gemstones... The possibilities are endless!)

All you need to do is lay the case on the fabric and trim to fit. I found it easiest to glue on one side of fabric, then trim the side next to it, glue it, trim the next side, etc. until you get all the way around. You don't want the fabric to go past the edge of the case. Then glue your ribbon so it's flush with the edge of the case, being careful not to glue the container shut. Add embellishments and voila! Cute little wipes case clutch thingy.

*Some people padded thier cases by gluing on felt or batting before adding fabric, but I just used the fabric and I think it looks great. You can change it up by using two or more pieces of fabric sewn together to create a stripe, or use a fancy trim (just make sure it's a straight edge).*

Happy wiping!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Two Years of Happiness







Happy Anniversary Sweetheart! It's been two years of absolute joy and happiness. I'm so glad that I get to be yours for the rest of forever. I never imagined that I could possibly be so blessed!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Project #1- Burp cloths

My mom has sewn a zillion (yes, a zillion) of these adorable, yet very functional burp cloths made from:
  • cloth diapers
  • rick rack or ribbon &
  • quilt binding (make sure it's the double fold stuff)

Super cute huh? Here's a link to the tutorial:
http://www.makeandtakes.com/baby-burp-cloth-tutorial

She also made me some matching flannel blanket/burp cloths of which you can find free patterns online like this one:
http://www.newconceptions.com/patpdf/BabyBurpCloth.pdf

Such fun! My sewing machine has had quite the workout lately. :)

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Gettin' Crafty

This little girl has taken over everything and she's not even born yet! Poor Dennis has endured late nights of me sewing, hot gluing, and organizing all through the break, not to mention random trips to the baby section "just to look." I'm still not much of a shopper, but for some reason it isn't quite as painful a task if it's for the baby, especially since we are starting completely from scratch. I have also never been very creative, but thanks to my mom, youtube, etsy, and some adorable blogs I've come across, I've been crafting up a storm!

My madre got me started when she borrowed my sewing machine to make a gazillion burp cloths & receiving blankets (I'm set on those items if anyone was wondering...) So then I decided to sew the crib set. My "fabric" for the crib skirt hasn't come in yet, so I'm still not finished, but I think it's going to be stinkin' adorable.

Some other fun projects have been: travel wipes cases, hair bows, diaper totes, & closet organizers... Pictures to come!!!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Winter Break

Yay for two weeks off! I finished my finals, had our 20 week ultrasound, celebrated Christmas and New Years, and now it's back to business with 9-11 credits (still debating on whether I'll take one more class or not), Young Women's in full swing, and the end of basketball season. But first, here are a few pictures from winter break...

This is my brother Josh, his wife Donielle, and my sister Tara. I don't remember this picture. They must've borrowed my camera.
Some stinkin' adorable clothes that Mom & Donielle got after we found out that it's girl!

The Leavitt family at Christmas eve.


Four-and-a-half generation picture... I was excited to find out that we we're having a girl so that we can take this picture in a few months with all 5 generations! There's my 98-year-old Great grandma Louise, Grandma June, Mom, me Tara & D0nielle, and baby Peters (still working on a name) and baby Jace.
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!